LeBron James, Kevin Durant Need To Get On The Block

LBJ would be unstoppable with a post up game but I don’t see how the super-model thin Durant will ever be able to effectively go into the blocks. Kevin needs to add 20 lbs of muscle this offseason then focus on posting up after 2012.

Totally agree for Lebron. He needs a spin move, a jump hook ( just look at the damage Marion did with his), and it allows him to shoot his fall-away from shorter distance.

For Durant, I think his ball handling and strength in his dribble is a higher priority for me. He has a lot more opportunity to drive b/c of his range. It’s amazing how often Dirk was able to work around the top of the key, the Thunder should work Durant there if he is strong enough to hold the position.

As for Durant being too skinny, I don’t think KD’s goal needs to be developing the ability to bang with 4s in the paint. His range creates matchup problems, and turning him into a more prototypical post player really only negates that advantage. KD’s post game should be oriented towards punishing teams that try to guard him with a smaller, quicker player, and he’s already fairly adept with a complement of fadeaways, fakes, and ball sweep moves.

As for why the Thunder didn’t post him up more against smaller players, that’s a different issue…

Fantastic article. After the WC Finals, I said KD needs to set up residence in the gym, that’s whats holding him back. I agree with RGunner, LBJ is probably better prepared to add a post up game right now. Maybe I’m hating, but the fact that LBJ has all the tools to add a post up game, but hasn’t yet, leads me to think that he just doesn’t want to. Like that’s not the type of player he wants to be.

I don’t think anyone would argue that either of these players adding another weapon to their arsenal would make them Dirk-like in their inability to be defended. (By the way, as a casual basketball follower I appreciate the explanation in the article of how their matchups with the Mavs would have been different if they had a post game.)

The real question is, “Which one of them is more-likely to develop that part of their game?” Their are numerous factors that play into it, beginning with their ability to realize this missing piece to their game. Are they self-critical enough to make this observation on their own? If not, do they have a coach/mentor that will point it out to them? What has been each of their track records for developing their game to this point? Are they likely to evolve their game or just keep working on what they currently do?

As a Longhorn and Mavs fan, let me pick on LeBron for an example, although the same thinking should be applied to Kevin. LeBron could easily look at his game this year compared to Dirk and say to himself, “Dirk shot 36.8% from 3-point range in the series against us and 46.0% for the playoffs this year. If I could do that (instead of 32.1% and 35.3%), then I could be as potent as he was.” And as a result LeBron spends this summer working feverishly to improve his 3-point accuracy in hopes of improving his game. While this may indeed make his game better, it is merely improving an existing weapon and not adding a new one to his arsenal.

Does LeBron have it within himself to realize for himself what made Dirk so indefensible? Does Erik Spoelstra (or Pat Riley, or anyone else in the Heat organization) realize this is what made Dirk a tough draw? Even if they do, can they communicate this to LeBron and convince him to add it to his game? I am picking on LeBron and the Heat, but the same questions should be asked of Kevin Durant and the Thunder.

I am not enough of a basketball guy to answer those questions, but I’d enjoy reading a discussion on it by those who are. Do these two stars have it in them to add a post-up game? What will it take to get them to realize that they could greatly benefit from it?

SMUHorn —

As a basketball fan, it is really frustrating to watch him some times. He posted up Marion one time in the Finals, spun off him and got an easy lay-up and I remember thinking: you can do this EVERY time. It’s really THAT easy!

He won 2 MVP’s by the age of 25; I’m sure he’s been pretty hard to coach for awhile now. When you’re that age you think you have everything figured out. This last year has to have humbled him; it’s probably the first time since he was 15 that he’s genuinely failed on the basketball court.

Hoyahorn:

My guess is he hasn’t developed a post-game for the same reason a lot of young big men don’t: people aren’t as impressed when you just overpower someone:

http://getbuckets.fantake.com/2010/09/28/the-two-biggest-steals-of-the-2010-draft-and-why-they-fell/

I’m 6’5 and I hardly ever post-up anymore when I’m playing pick-up ball. It just feels pointless.

They need to go to the Olajuwon summer camp and get schooled. KD should just do what Kobe did and give Hakeem a call.

Heard Kareem Abdul-Jabbar interviewed on the radio recently and he was asked about the vanishing post-up center. He responded that all players seem to emphasize guard skills today, including big men. He gave a more dignified version of the now familiar complaint that “all the young guys want to do is run, dunk and shoot 3’s because that is what gets you on Sportscenter.”

Learning a post-up game isn’t sexy. It is hard, repetitive, grinding work, like playing scales on a musical instrument. Establish and hold position with a strong athletic guy trying to shove you out of it. Feel where his weight is and where that tells you he is vulnerable. Practice the same moves and shots over and over, frquently taking a beating while doing it.

I agree that both players need to add a post-up game. It will be interesting to see who does and what that says about how badly they want to win championships. Prove me wrong, LeBron, but my money is on Durant.

TJarks-

I know exactly what you’re talking about. I forget whether it was game 4 or 5, but I saw Lebron set up in the middle of that impenetrable zone defense the Mavs were running…you know..bc that’s how you attack a zone defense. He received the pass, defense collapsed, and he passed it off to a cutter for an easy basket. Perfect, simple way to attack a zone defense that Rick Barnes could have coached (no offense). AND IT NEVER HAPPENED AGAIN. That series was very frustrating to watch…

As for who develops the post up game first, I’m gonna give LBJ some love and say he does it first. Bron already has the strength and the basketball skills to do it. I think he already knows how to do it, it just takes a mentality shift with him. That’s something that can happen in an off season. Also, because I want to see him do it. It would be a basketball crime, IMO, if one of the most athletically gifted American athletes in any sport stops short of coming to his full potential.

If Bron does find a post up game, barring injury, you can pencil Miami in for the next three Finals.

You can’t teach 7’1" with the wingspan of an condor, and the balance of a Nijinsky, and the chess game of a Nevistky.

And he’s never played with a top-shelf guard with penetration skills. Derek Harper would have made a lot of money off Dirk.